Backup advise with ESXi4.1 & SBS2008

coldfeet

Hi,
Currently Im using sbs2003. I'm doing an upgrade on the network, looking at putting in ESXi4.1 with sbs2008 and in the the future a 2nd server for running BES Express and other applications. I will be building the server from scratch as the domain is changing

This is my first foray into virtualization and my big concern is about backups, i've been hitting google but still a little unsure of the best practices, obviously price will be an issue.

If I use the integrated ntbackup to an external HD will this do, ie, if server fails and i rebuild esxi, install sbs can I restore from the ntbackup?
Is there any benefit of taking snap-shots of the running sbs?
I would hope in the long run to upgrade the old server, is it possible to get one backing up to the other with the free version of esxi or would i need extra licenses.

Any other advice would be gratefully appreciated.

qwertz

You should be able to clone your VMs and then simply download them off your datastore. This won't cost you anything in licenses.

Then, if/when your server needs to be restored, just get your hypervisor up and running (if it was the problem to begin with) and upload the VM into the datastore. You can also keep the clone in the datastore in case something happens to the production VM.

Make sure you repeat the cloning process as often as your disaster recovery or BCP policy requires it.

coldfeet

What have you used/advice for cloning the VM's?

If I split the datastore for 2 separate VM's can I clone both of them to their own separate part of the datastore. ie, if I give sbs2008 say 200GB, it would need approx 60GB to run, can I then image the vm to the remaining 140GB in that datastore?

qwertz

You can use the build-in clone function (not sure if you need vCenter for that but I can verify tomorrow).

You can clone it, give it a new name, and keep it in the current datastore.

You can thin-provision which would give you some flexibility. Just make sure you don't overprovision and run out of space!

Too late, too tired

wasim21k

you do need vcenter for clonning,
have look here for free backup
http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-8760

Jumpy

If its production, dont thin provision your disks.
Multiple thin provisioned disks will cause performance issues due to constant SCSI reservations.

swampgas

coldfeet wrote: »

Is there any benefit of taking snap-shots of the running sbs?

Best practice is not to run on snapshots indefinitely. Generally snapshots are worth doing before patching or applying service packs, so you can roll back if it doesn't work out. But snapshots - especially layers of snapshots - can have a performance penalty.

Jumpy wrote: »

If its production, dont thin provision your disks.
Multiple thin provisioned disks will cause performance issues due to constant SCSI reservations.

Thin disks / SCSI reservations are not likely to cause problems unless you have a heavily loaded disk - for example a SAN LUN with 30 busy VMs on it. And with ESXi 4.1 if you have a VAAI-capable SAN you don't have to worry about thin disks causing SCSI reservations at all.

All the same, I'd be inclined to avoid thin disks if you have a single ESXi and no VC server, as there really isn't any benefit in that case.

zod

http://www.veeam.com/vmware-esx-backup.html

voted no.1 by vmware users.

LoGiE

I 2nd Veem. I use it to back up hosts nightly to a SAN then back it up to tape on a Sunday.

ednwireland

ive just migrated a physical sbs server to a esx4i virtual

i just run my backups as normal the only issue ive hit so far is that i cant get esxi to recognise an external usb drive (pre formatted)

not causing me a huge problem as i have 4tb network storage unit so i just run a backup to that (just use novastor or ntbackup)

mind another problem is i dont seem to be able to get esx4i to boot the image automatically if we have a power outage (yes i need ups's i know budget aint there)

swampgas

ednwireland wrote: »

ive just migrated a physical sbs server to a esx4i virtual
[ ... ]
mind another problem is i dont seem to be able to get esx4i to boot the image automatically if we have a power outage (yes i need ups's i know budget aint there)

Open your vSphere Client, connect to the ESXi server.

• Select the server itself.
• Select the Configuration tab.
• In the Software section click on "Virtual Machine Startup/Shutdown".
• Check that startup is enabled.

ednwireland

swampgas wrote: »

Open your vSphere Client, connect to the ESXi server.

• Select the server itself.
• Select the Configuration tab.
• In the Software section click on "Virtual Machine Startup/Shutdown".
• Check that startup is enabled.

thanks hadnt quite figured out how that screen worked, hd to go into properties enable automatic startup and then move the vm into the automatic startup section phew, simples#

thanks again

rolion

ednwireland wrote: »

ive just migrated a physical sbs server to a esx4i virtual

i just run my backups as normal the only issue ive hit so far is that i cant get esxi to recognise an external usb drive (pre formatted)

QUOTE]

you'll need usb over ethernet application to get that working...

coldfeet

Cheers for the advice, I will definitly check out Veeam as recommended.

Currently Im using the 30 day trial of Shadow Protect, backing up the running VM to a NAS drive. I like the feature of being able to mount the image and recover old files. It also lets me create a vmdk image of a backup to launch in esxi or boot the recover cd in a vm and restore the image.

I will still check out veeam and make a decision on which to use

Once again thanks for the info, (there's a lot more involved in ESXi than i expected)

Mr. Fancypants

Be careful with snapshots of a SBS server as restoring from a snapshot isn't supported with a domain controller.
The inbuilt SBS backup utility is actually quite good and as far as i am aware ESX 4.1 supports usb passthrough so you could use external hard drives without having to buy extra kit. You wouldn't have a backup of the whole virtual machine as such though.

Veeam is an excellent product too and much more fully featured than the free sbs backup and it will correctly back up exchange and prune the logs. It is also reasonably priced for what it does. Just remember to have offsite backups!

longshotvalue

zod wrote: »

http://www.veeam.com/vmware-esx-backup.html

voted no.1 by vmware users.

Cant be beat, simple , works and very cost effective..

SBS 2008 tough is a total pig and i wouldnt hesitate to suggest using sbs 2003 instead, i think it can still be installed and 2008 is a memory hungry hog that will require significantly more resources than 2003 for no extra functionality ( im my view 2003 sbs if far superior) especially in a virtual envoirnment.

I just noticed you already have 2003 sbs, i wouldnt change, just P2V it and use Veeam. You will be dissapointed with the upgrade.

Mr. Fancypants

aidankkk wrote: »

SBS 2008 tough is a total pig and i wouldnt hesitate to suggest using sbs 2003 instead, i think it can still be installed and 2008 is a memory hungry hog that will require significantly more resources than 2003 for no extra functionality ( im my view 2003 sbs if far superior) especially in a virtual envoirnment.

I just noticed you already have 2003 sbs, i wouldnt change, just P2V it and use Veeam. You will be dissapointed with the upgrade.

Although SBS 2008 does take up a fair bit more resources (absolute minimum of 8GB of ram) it does offer a lot of extra functionality over 2003. Anyhow, either the OP has already purchased SBS 2008 or if not he will be getting SBS 2011 (2008R2 and Exchange 2001) as that has replaced 2008 since Feb.